Caught On Tape: The Response To Derrion Albert's Murder

Five key elements of the much-covered (but little-understood) response by the Board of Education, the City, and the Obama administration to the murder of Fenger High School student Derrion Albert:

A hastily-planned, one day summit at a downtown hotel? A handful of additional federal dollars and a lot of hand-waving? Really - that's all you can come up with?

If this is such a big deal then why didn't President Obama participate? He goes to Copenhagen on Mayor
Daley's wild good chase but can't make it home for something far more
serious. Has he even seen the video, or called to console the family?

Why the insistence from the Obama administration describing what's
happening as "national" problem? Kids may be exposed to or affected by
violence everywhere, but shootings and murders aren't happening in
other big cities like they are in Chicago. Saying that it is doesn't
make it so.

How come Huberman still won't release the list of 38 schools with the
highest risk factors (or the study that he used to develop his plan)?
It's been well over a month now, and the plan's methods and details are
still secret.

Blaming the violence on Renaissance 2010 is a convenient but
superficial explanation. Preserving the
old Fenger (or Carver) wouldn't have made a real difference. It's much worse -- much more serious -- than that.

Comments

Alexander you are asking some excellent questions relating to this new anti-violence plan. Given the fact that CPS is right now making an additional $61 million in budget cuts the complete lack of fiscal accountability relating to what this "plan" will cost is really amazing. Having said this who can really oppose trying to save students' lives. But before we spend millions it would really be nice to have an idea whether or not this plan which is not written, but exists only in power point presentations will be likely to work.

thanks, rod -- i'd really like to see more details and find out what other districts have done or not done to address these issues.

btw -- duncan's people are saying that there are only a small number of kids from altgeld who go to fenger (142 last year) -- and that the figure has increased only slightly in the last four years, from 124.

Alexander_- CPS lies. Do not believe there are only 142 students from Altgeld at Fenger. How many from Altgeld are at Carver? How many in Altgeld are high school age and NOT going to school--never got to Fenger because of not being wanted, fear/worry/etc.? How many dropped out of Fenger who lived in Altgeld? AND be sure to see the boundaries Despenza is using before and after the Carver conversion. CPS lies Alexander. They willnever tell the truth now--the cover up happened 2 minutes after this poor teens death.

Come on Ron and Richie--LET THE ALTGELD STUDENTS TRANSFER TO CARVER. If there is only 142 as CPS says, then that shoul dnot be a problems since Carver is so big--come on! Start the solution, let Altgeld'sALL children go to Carver. Amen.
(The devil says that will never happen.)

Early Departures for the Sun, is a riveting book that chronicles the prevailing violence, which permeates our lives and homes. America has become so obsessed with violence that little children are learning to kill before they understand the English alphabet. Many people search for a spiritual answer, only to hope that their faiths would lead them to see their love ones who were violently removed from their lives. Violence also reared its ugly head in today

One would hope that the book is better written than this press release. Nonetheless, this looks more like shameless self-promotion than a solution to today's violence issues. Sorry, won't be purchasing this one.

What was wrong with the press release. People are dying everyday to violence and countless children are landing in the the care of DHS. There is nothing wrong with self promotion if the intent and character of a person is targeted toward changing the conditions of those who are affected with calamity.

Retired Principal said: Carver Military Academy only has 504 students in a building that will hold 1500 students or more. Carver has been a military academy since 2000. Why is Daley, Duncan and Huberman talking about since the 2003-2004 school year and 2009-2010 school year, there are only 12 more students from Atlgeld Gardens! Because Mayor Daley loves military academies! Let the students from Atlgeld Gardens go to Carver! Daley, Duncan and Huberman, admit your mistakes!

"Wednesday morning Mayor Daley, School Superintendent Ron Huberman, Police Superintendent Jody Weis, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Father Michael Pfleger were in a members-only breakfast club meeting that came about because of black youth violence in Chicago. Wow!

"When I was a pastor on the West Side of Chicago I found myself in the middle of rioting public school students on more than one occasion. I've testified about this violence before the Board of Education, when Arne Duncan was the superintendent, on more than one occasion as well. What happened? Since the riots weren't caught on video, we didn't get any help from the White House or anywhere else for that matter. Community groups (and a Chicago Public Schools security team) stepped in and stepped up to provide safe passage for the students the rest of the school year...."

Arne and Ron are NOT Superintendents and NEVER will be. PLEASE stop caling them that. They are not qualified by education, by employment, by personality, by experience, by guts or by intellect to be called Superintendent.

Meet The Blogger

Alexander Russo

I grew up near Roscoe &amp; Halsted in the 1970s, left for college and moved back in 2000, started this blog in 2005 (first on my own, then with Catalyst, and now with ChicagoNow). My dad went to Senn. I went to Near North Montessori and Parker. Since 2006 I've been living in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn -- the Wicker Park of New York City. I have another education blog called This Week In Education that focuses on school reform trends at the national level.